Latimer: Initial findings of Astorino’s budget is troubling

Westchester County Executive George Latimer says that the initial findings of an audit of former County Executive Rob Astorino’s budget by the state Comptroller’s Office are troubling.

Soon after Latimer took office three months ago, he asked the state Comptroller's Office to audit Astorino's budget.

Latimer says the group found Astorino's budget overestimated both sales tax and state aid, and didn't properly allot money to resolve the stalled CSEA union contract negotiation.

He added that a break for taxpayers that was promised by Astorino when he submitted a $1.8 billion budget last year is a case of smoke and mirrors.

Latimer says that in total, it could leave the county tens of millions of dollars in debt.

While it’s too soon to know what the final numbers will be, Latimer insists that raising taxes will be a last resort.

He says he wants to give the public advanced warning that belt-tightening could be on the horizon, and the many promises made by the last administration will likely never come to fruition.